Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Good writing often borrows existing ideas; truly original ideas are often poorly expressed.
- In plain terms
- Quality and originality rarely happen together perfectly.
- What can you take from it?
- Choose between clarity and novelty.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is your work clear or new?
- Which matters more to you?
Another view
Rare works succeed at both quality and originality.
More from Samuel Johnson
Of all noises, I think music is the least disagreeable.
Permalink to quote #203 The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things - the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the…
Permalink to quote #205 God bless you, my dear!
Permalink to quote #202
Related quotes
When I start writing a poem, I don't think about models or about what anybody else in the world has done.
Gwendolyn BrooksGwendolyn Brooks quote #5 Ainsi presque tout est imitation. L'idee des Lettres persanes est prise de celle de l'Espion turc. Le Boiardo a imite le Pulci, l'Arioste a imite le Boiardo. L…
VoltaireVoltaire quote #6 Originality is not seen in single words or even in sentences. Originality is the sum total of a man's thinking or his writing.
Isaac Bashevis SingerIsaac Bashevis Singer quote #37